Lana da Silva Sylvestre

A community-derived classification for extant lycophytes and ferns

Phylogeny has long informed pteridophyte classification. As our ability to infer evolutionary trees has improved, classifications aimed at recognizing natural groups have become increasingly predictive and stable. Here, we provide a modern, comprehensive classification for lycophytes and ferns, down to the genus level, utilizing a community‐based approach. We use monophyly as the primary criterion for the recognition of taxa, but also aim to preserve existing taxa and circumscriptions that are both widely accepted and consistent with our understanding of pteridophyte phylogeny. In total, this classification treats an estimated 11 916 species in 337 genera, 51 families, 14 orders, and two classes. This classification is not intended as the final word on lycophyte and fern taxonomy, but rather a summary statement of current hypotheses, derived from the best available data and shaped by those most familiar with the plants in question. We hope that it will serve as a resource for those wanting references to the recent literature on pteridophyte phylogeny and classification, a framework for guiding future investigations, and a stimulus to further discourse.

New Brazilian Floristic List Highlights Conservation Challenges

A comprehensive new inventory of Brazilian plants and fungi was published just in time to meet a 2010 Convention on Biological Diversity target and offers important insights into this biodiversitys global significance. Brazil is the home to the worlds richest flora (40,989 species; 18,932 endemic) and includes two of the hottest hotspots: Mata Atlântica (19,355 species) and Cerrado (12,669 species). Although the total number of known species is one-third lower than previous estimates, the absolute number of endemic vascular plant species is higher than was previously estimated, and the proportion of endemism (56%) is the highest in the Neotropics. This compilation serves not merely to quantify the scale of the challenge faced in conserving Brazils unique flora but also serves as a key resource to direct action and monitor progress. Similar efforts by other megadiverse countries are urgently required if the 2020 targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation are to be attained.

Diversity of ferns and lycophytes in Brazil

This compilation of ferns and lycophytes in Brazil is an update of the one published in 2010 in Catalogo de Plantas e Fungos do Brasil. The methodology consisted in collecting data from regional checklists, taxonomic revisions, and selected databases. Invited specialists improved the list accessing a website housed at the Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. The results show 1,253 species: 1,111 of ferns and 142 of lycophytes. This number is 6.5% higher than the previous one (1,176 spp.). The percentage of endemic species decreased from 38.2% to 36.7%. We recognized 36 families and 133 genera (vs. 33 families, 121 genera in 2010). The 10 most diverse families are Pteridaceae (196 spp.), Dryopteridaceae (179), Polypodiaceae (164), Hymenophyllaceae (90), Thelypteridaceae (86), Aspleniaceae (78), Lycopodiaceae (64), Selaginellaceae (55), Anemiaceae (51), and Cyatheaceae (45). The three most diverse genera are still Elaphoglossum (87 spp.), Thelypteris (85), and Asplenium (74). The richest phytogeographic domain continues to be in the Atlantic Rainforest with 883 species which also has the largest number of endemic and threatened species, followed by the Amazon Rainforest (503), Cerrado (269), Pantanal (30), Caatinga (26), and Pampa (eight). Minas Gerais remains as the richest state (657 spp. vs. 580 in 2010).

Restinga de Praia das Neves, ES, Brasil: caracterizacao fitofisionomica, floristica e conservacao

A restinga de Praia das Neves ocupa uma extensa area (ca. 67 km2) no extremo sul do Estado do Espirito Santo (21°14′35.35″S e 40°56′48.68″W), limitada pelo Rio Itabapoana, na divisa com o Estado do Rio de Janeiro. O objetivo desse estudo foi identificar e caracterizar as diferentes formacoes vegetais dessa restinga e sua flora associada, incluindo o reconhecimento dos habitats relacionados ao lagarto ameacado de extincao Liolaemus lutzae Mertens, 1938. Excursoes para caracterizacao da flora local foram realizadas em campanhas pontuais, entre os anos de 2008 e 2011, e o material botânico foi identificado e posteriormente depositado no Herbario RBR do Departamento de Botânica da Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro. A caracterizacao das diferentes formacoes encontradas baseou-se em observacoes locais e na bibliografia especializada, considerando aspectos fisicos do ambiente, o habito e a composicao das especies vegetais. A vegetacao da restinga de Praia das Neves reune sete formacoes florestais, arbustivas e herbaceas, distribuidas em geral em faixas paralelas a linha da costa. Foram registradas 167 especies de plantas vasculares, reunidas em 58 familias, ocorrendo nas diferentes formacoes. A grande maioria das especies estudadas e exclusiva de uma unica formacao, enquanto que Allagoptera arenaria (guriri-da-praia) se destaca por ocorrer em quase todas as formacoes locais. A restinga de Praia das Neves mantem extensos trechos em bom estado de conservacao, com especies listadas como ameacadas para a flora do Estado do Espirito Santo e com importantes remanescentes de formacoes costeiras no Estado. Embora sua maior extensao esteja contida em area privada, acoes futuras devem assegurar a preservacao da restinga local, com suas formacoes vegetais e a biota associada, conforme indica a legislacao federal vigente.

O gênero Adiantum (Pteridaceae) no estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

The genus Adiantum L. can be easily recognized by the pseudoindusium formed by the revolute margin of the lamina and with veins. The species of this genus are terrestrial or lithophytics. It is a Pantropical group with approximately 200 species, 70 of which occur in South America, and 62 in Brazil. Its species are usually found in primary and secondary forests, from sea level to 2,000 meters. Aimed the regional knowledge of this group in Brazil, this study reports a floristic survey of the genus Adiantum to the state of Rio de Janeiro, providing an identification key, descriptions, comments, and illustrations of the species. There are 20 species of Adiantum in the state, corresponding to 30% of the species recorded to Brazil. They can be found in rainforests and sandy coastal plain vegetation, from sea level to 850 meters. Some species have a wide range of distribution in Central and South America (70%), whereas others are endemic to Brazil (30%).

Different slopes of a mountain can determine the structure of ferns and lycophytes communities in a tropical forest of Brazil

A community of Ferns and Lycophytes was investigated by comparing the occurrence of species on different slopes of a paleoisland in Southeastern Brazil. Our goal was to evaluate the hypothesis that slopes with different geographic orientations determine a differentiation of Atlantic Forest ferns and lycophytes community. We recorded these plants at slopes turned towards the continent and at slopes turned towards the open sea. Analysis consisted of a preliminary assessment on fern beta diversity, a Non Metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) and a Student t-test to confirm if sites sampling units ordination was different at each axis. We further used the Pearson coefficient to relate fern species to the differentiation pattern and again Students t-test to determine if richness, plant cover and abundance varied between the two sites. There was a relatively low number of shared species between the two sites and ferns and lycophytes community variation was confirmed. Some species were detected as indicators of the community variation but we were unable to detect richness, plant cover or abundance differences. Despite the evidence of this variation between the slopes, further works are needed to evaluate which processes are contributing to determine this pattern.

Polystichum montevidense Demystified: Molecular and Morphological Data Reveal a Cohesive, Widespread South American Species

Abstract The genus Polystichum presents striking variation in morphology and habitat preference in the Central Andes, the Serra do Mar, and adjacent regions. Among these taxa, Polystichum montevidense is a name long applied to an array of twice-pinnate species with dark petiole scales, broad leaves, and no vegetative propagules. Using a classical morphological approach combined with inferences gleaned from molecular data, we analyzed P. montevidense and its widespread and ecologically prominent array of allies. Results from our combined molecular and morphological analysis suggest the name P. montevidense should be applied to collections from the Central Andes south to Argentina, and east to Uruguay and the southernmost portion of Brazil. Most Brazilian plants determined as P. montevidense in herbaria are P. platylepis.

Diversity and Distribution Patterns of Aspleniaceae in Brazil

The family Aspleniaceae is represented in Brazil by two genera: Asplenium, with 69 species and four varieties and Antigramma, with three species. The genus Asplenium is widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions and presents 20 species that occur exclusively in Brazil. The genus Antigramma is mainly Neotropical, represented in this region by three species, one of them restricted to Brazil. The pantropical elements constitute 9.2%, the widely distributed in America 32.9%, the widely distributed in South America 4%, the restricted to the northern part of South America 11,8%, and those restricted to the meridional part of South America 11.8%. Species restricted to Brazil correspond to 27.6%, and are centered exclusively in the South and Southeastern regions. Two species (2.7%) represent disjunctions, one also occurring in the Andes and the other in the Guaianas. An analysis of the group in relation to the Neotropical fern diversity and speciation centers indicates that the majority of the taxa (78%) occur in she Southeastern Brazilian center. The Andean center presents significant relations with the Brazilian fern flora, followed by elements from the Guaianas and Mexico/Central America. The results reaffirm the importance of South-Southeastern Brazil as a major center of speciation and endemism for Neotropical ferns, especially the regions of the Atlantic forest and “campos rupestres” (rupestrial grasslands). Distribution maps of some species are presented with a discussion of the distribution patterns.

Flora do estado do Rio de Janeiro: avanços no conhecimento da diversidade

O estado do Rio de Janeiro, inserido no Bioma Mata Atlântica, representa uma area com alta diversidade de paisagens vegetacionais, habitats e especies de plantas, incluindo varias endemicas. A flora do estado do Rio de Janeiro e reconhecidamente uma das mais ricas do pais e o estado apontado como um importante centro de endemismo. Tais caracteristicas tem incentivado os mais diferentes estudos botânicos, destacando Vellozo, Cysneiros, Glaziou, Gardner, entre outros, como naturalistas precursores na exploracao das florestas nativas. Apresentam-se, de modo geral, aspectos fisiograficos do estado e uma breve retrospectiva do projeto Flora do estado do Rio de Janeiro, iniciado em 2001, que culminou, em 2007, com a elaboracao online do checklist da flora do estado, e em 2011, com a implantacao do Catalogo de especies de plantas vasculares e briofitas da flora do estado do Rio de Janeiro, no qual mais de 150 colaboradores trabalharam online. Essas iniciativas revelam numeros bem expressivos da diversidade da flora fluminense e a necessidade de se prosseguir nos estudos taxonomicos dos grupos botânicos que compoem a flora. Atualmente, sao registradas para o estado do Rio de Janeiro 334 familias, 1.821 generos e 8.203 especies, subespecies e variedades de plantas vasculares e briofitas, sendo 1.740 endemicas. Destacam-se as formacoes vegetacionais, os municipios, as Unidades de Conservacao e as familias de Angiospermas, Samambaias e Licofitas e Briofitas com maior riqueza de especies, bem como se comenta sobre tratamentos monograficos ja realizados. Este volume especial da Rodriguesia dedicado a flora do estado do Rio de Janeiro apresenta 76 especies de angiospermas distribuidas nas familias Aizoaceae, Alismataceae, Asparagaceae, Ceratophyllaceae, Cabombaceae, Haloragaceae, Hydrocharitaceae, Hydroleaceae, Juncaginaceae, Lentibulariaceae, Mayacaceae, Menyanthaceae, Molluginaceae, Myristicaceae, Nymphaeaceae, Pontederiaceae, Potamogetonaceae, Rhizophoraceae e Typhaceae.

A new Brazilian species of the genus Asplenium L. (Aspleniaceae).

Abstract Asplenium truncorum, a new asplenioid fern from the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest, is described, illustrated and compared to the most similar species. So far, it seems to be restricted to the montane moist forests of southern Bahia and Espírito Santo States, at elevations of 750 to 950 m. Field observations suggest that this species grows exclusively as an epiphyte on the trunks of tree ferns, especially Alsophila setosa Kaulf. (Cyatheaceae).